


Lean In To Me

by ShadowHaloedAngel



Category: Ocean's 8 (2018)
Genre: Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Intimacy, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 11:55:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18260774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowHaloedAngel/pseuds/ShadowHaloedAngel
Summary: A soft snapshot late at night





	Lean In To Me

It's late, and Lou's still out. Well, not really out, she's next door at the club, but Debbie didn't feel like it tonight. They'd had dinner earlier, a delicious stirfry packed with vegetables and noodles, fragrant with ginger and garlic and soy. Honestly Debbie is still so grateful for Lou's prowess in the kitchen (as well as other places). It seemed only fair for her to take care of the dishes after that, and really she's trying to step up more, to take some ownership of this space, their space, to be an equal partner, because Lou deserves that much. Really, she deserves so much more. 

The dishes are done. She's even dried them off and put them away, and honestly having done that it only seems natural to swipe a cloth over the countertop to take care of the crumbs and the coffee stains and sticky patches, and to move on from there to wiping the sink clean too. There's a satisfaction to the sparkle of the stainless steel that takes her a little bit by surprise, because really she never thought there could be a satisfaction to housework, but then... well, this is the first time she's really had a home. The loss of home after she moved out of her family's house was something she always thought didn't bother her, it was great to have the freedom to go anywhere, do anything... and then prison had made the freedom seem even more enticing... until she'd come out and come home to Lou. 

The club had been a surprise, and at first she'd been a little wrong-footed by it, but actually Debbie is really starting to appreciate what it means to have roots and somewhere to belong. More importantly, everything that happened with Claude means she understands what it means to have someone to belong with. 

She's half-staring out the window, not really looking at anything, when she feels arms sliding around her waist, and she relaxes back into the solid warmth of Lou's body because of course it's Lou, she knew it was Lou, and oh this does not get old. She feels rather than hears Lou's satisfied purr, and the statuesque blonde chuckles, one palm sliding over the suddenly sensitised skin of Debbie's stomach on its way to wrap around her. 

Debbie tilts her head back onto Lou's shoulder and smiles, pressing a kiss to Debbie's temple. 

"...Didn't think you'd still be up."

"Don't like going to bed without you. It's cold."

"You get lonely?"

Lou chuckles, but she holds Debbie just that little bit tighter all the same and Debbie leans up to give her a proper kiss. 

"...I wouldn't go that far."

She knows she should turn around really, has no problem with the times when Lou's crowded her against the counter or where that tends to end up, but actually she wants to savour this for a moment, to literally lean on the woman who has always been her rock, even the times when Debbie didn't appreciate her. She tries not to think too hard about those times because obsessing over them isn't going to change the fabric of the universe so they didn't happen, and by some miracle Lou still loves her. Really all Debbie wants to do now is make the most of that. 

"No, of course not... mmmn... you smell good... you okay there?"

"Yeah... I'm good. This is... nice."

"...Yeah? You like this?"

There's genuine gentle curiousity in that tone, because Lou somehow always knows when something matters, and something twists a little in Debbie's belly at the way Lou isn't just taking this lightly. It's the kind of thing she'd remember even if she did decide to tease about it, affectionate always, but even though it would be so easy Lou is listening to Debbie's attempts to be honest and taking them seriously. It's almost dizzying. Open communication and acknowledging her wants have never really been Debbie's strong points, and there was never much of a need to think about what she wanted in a relationship before because... well, on the one hand there was Lou and everything between them flowed naturally without talking, and on the other hand there were jobs where what she wanted didn't matter and she had to fit someone else's ideal. 

Since she got out there's been time to think, and one of the rules Lou set down for trying again was that she had to talk more. It doesn't come naturally, but Debbie is trying, and she's starting to find that she does quite like the results, even if the talking itself is still painfully hard at times. It's easier because of the way Lou listens. 

"...Yeah. I do. It feels... safe. I mean you always make me feel safe, but like this... I can literally lean into you and you're just warm and strong and soft and perfect and... I just want to close my eyes and stay like this."

"...Well we can? If you want?"

It's tempting, but she's been enjoying it for a while already and honestly Lou being this close is making her want more, because Lou is still dressed and so's Debbie and it's time to be wearing less and for them to be touching more. It's not even about sex, though this close to Lou there's always a banked heat between them, more than anything these days Debbie is greedy for contact, for skin-on-skin and she knows that with Lou... it can be that, and just be that. She doesn't need to have sex just to be held. It's a recent development, and part of her thinks it might just be part of growing up. It also sure as hell doesn't mean her sex drive has diminished, because she's pretty sure anyone with a pulse probably wants Lou Miller, but it's... nice to have the security of affection and touch without it always having to be something more. 

"Mmmm... no, I think I'm ready for bed."

Lou chuckles, sliding her palms back over the taut skin of Debbie's stomach and around her hips as she takes a step back. 

"That so? Alright then Ocean, I think I'm ready to crash. You gonna take me to bed?"

Debbie's smile is so wide it's luminous as she turns and takes a step to close the gap between them again, her hands going to Lou's waist in turn now. 

"...You know what? I think I am."

Lou's answering grin is bright as she leans in to claim a proper kiss, her arms going back around Debbie where they belong, as she replies. 

"...Well, thank god for that. What's stopping you?"

The laughter bursts out bright and easy, and Debbie steals another kiss before she heads for the stairs, holding onto Lou's hand. 

They've always joked that Lou will follow Debbie anywhere, but Debbie knows better than she knows anything else that really she'd be lost without Lou.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this is self-indulgent. No, I'm not sorry.


End file.
